Laminated archery bow

ABSTRACT

A composite bow having a metallic central handle portion for increased accuracy and strength, and laminated wood and fiber glass limb portions. The two laminated limbs are joined to the handle by a transition member which absorbs the difference in the modulus of elasticity between the relative rigid handle and the flexible limb portions.

United States Patent Richardson et al.

[15] 3,659,577 1 May 2,1972

LAMINATED ARCHERY BOW inventors: James R. Richardson; Robert E. Richardson, both of R. R. 3, Reeds Spring, Mo.

Filed: June 15, 1970 Appl. No.2 46,387

Foreign Application Priority Data July 2], 1969 Great Britain ,.36,549/69 U.S. Cl ..l24/24, 124/30 R, 273/D1G. 7, 273/DIG. 3

Int. Cl ..F4lb 5/00 Field of Search ..l24/22, 23, 24, 25, 30 R, 35, 124/41 [5 6] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,960,084 1 1/1960 Kramer 124/24 3,326,200 6/1967 Grable 1 24/24 Primary ExaminerRichard C. Pinkham Assistant Examiner-William R. Browne Attorney-William D. Hall, Elliott l. Pollock, Fred C. Philpitt, George Vande Sande, Charles F. Steininger and Robert R. Priddy 57 ABSTRACT A composite bow having a metallic central handle portion for increased accuracy and strength, and laminated wood and fiber glass limb portions. The two laminated limbs are joined to the handle by a transition member which absorbs the difference in the modulus of elasticity between the relative rigid handle and the flexible limb portions.

5 Claims, 4 Drawing Figures Patented May 2, 1972 3,659,577

2 Sheets-Sheet l 23 mv smons JAMES R. RICHARDSON ROBERT E. RICHARDSON WXWAQA ATTOR N EYS Patented May 2, 1972 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVEN'IOKS JAMES RNRICHARDSON ROBERT E.f;RICHARDSON BY W K m4 ATTORNEYS LAMINATED ARCHERY BOW BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Composite bows are well known in the art. An example of such a bow is disclosed in US. Pat. No. 2,945,488 to Cosimo and James Cravotta. Such a bow uses a composite limb portion having at least two wood members for flexibility and spring, and fiber glass for increased strength and set. In the past, such bows have been constructed around a central wooden handle portion which is joined to the laminated limb portions.

Other bows have elaborately contoured handle portions to provide a snug and sure grip for the archers hand, and to enable the archer to firmly grasp the bow while holding his wrist straight. In order to grip the bow with a straightened wrist, the handle must be contoured and angled. Modern bows, such as that disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 2,842,1l3 issued to L. W. Roper on July 8, 1958, shows elaborately carved handle portions which enable the archer to maintain his wrist at a fixed and straight orientation. It is also common with these elaborately contoured bow handles to provide a ledge portion for support of the arrow when the bow is fully drawn. This increases the accuracy of the archer by enabling the arrow to be centered close to the center of the handle in direct alignment with the bow string.

Inasmuch as a shorter arrow may be cast much farther than a longer arrow, it has been desirable to provide for an overdraw type of handle. A typical type of prior art overdraw handle is disclosed in US. Pat. No. 2,960,084 wherein a horizontal ledge portion is provided to support a shorter arrow and enable it to be overdrawn and thereby provide the same casting capability as would be provided for a longer arrow.

Because hunting arrows have a relatively large head in comparison to target arrows, it has heretofore been impossible to provide an overdraw bow handle together with an angled handle portion. Since a much larger portion of the handle must be cut out to provide for an overdraw of a hunting arrow, or a broad head arrow, it has been impossible to fabricate wooden handles because of the relatively large amounts of force that would be exerted across a substantially narrowed central handle portion.

Separate attempts at providing a metallic handle for conventionally shaped bow handles have met with very limited success. Because of the extreme differential between the modulus of elasticity for the relatively flexible limb portions, and the relative stiffness of the inflexible metal handle portions, there has been a great deal of difficulty in providing for a secure and proper joint between the two. In addition, most hunting bows are used out of doors wherein wide seasonal fluctuations in temperature may be encountered, and the stress engendered by variations in the coefficient of expansion becomes too great for the joint, when the joint is subjected to the severe shock and stress of an arrow release.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is therefore an object of this invention to provide a new and improved composite bow, with a metallic handle portion which will overcome the previously encountered difficulties. This metallic handle, due to its greater strength, will enable an archer to overdraw a broad head arrow, said handle having a cut-out in the handle portion to accommodate the broad head arrow, and still conform the lower portion of the handle in a configuration suitable for a straight-wrist extension. It has also been discovered that by placing an intermediate flexible transition member between the relatively flexible limb portion and the relatively inflexible handle portion, a transition joint may be achieved which will allow for the differences in the modulus of elasticity, and for the stress that is brought about by extreme changes in temperature.

The central metal handle section also cuts down the amount of shock that is transmitted to the archers wrist upon the sudden casting of the arrow, and the heavy weight of the handle enables the weight to be centrally located within the bow to give the bow more stability. The use of a metal handle portion will also enable the designer of the bow to provide for a smaller hand grip, to thereby eliminate torque about the center axis of the bow, and provide for the arrow to be centrally located immediately in front of the bow string.

The increased accuracy that may be brought about by the utilization of a smaller handle, shorter arrow and overdraw, and centrally balanced weight was well illustrated in a recent archery meet wherein a bow constructed in this manner won first place in the top four classes of the archery meet.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is an isometric view of the metal handle member and the intermediate transition members pegged thereto.

FIG. 2 is a cross section view of our new and improved bow handle, with one of the laminated limb members shown permanently attached to the intermediate transition member, and the other laminated limb member illustrated in exploded view.

FIG. 3 is a side view of an archery bow constructed with a metal handle.

FIG. 4 is a side view of a hunting bow constructed with a metal handle.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT As illustrated in FIG. 1, the central handle portion 10 is formed of cast aluminum. Although the particular metal is relatively unimportant, aluminum has been found to possess a desirable weight-to-strength ratio for use in archery bows. The handle member tapers off into two V-shaped end portions 11 and 12 mounted on either end of the central handle member 10. This handle also defines an overdraw platform 13 and a broad head arrow cut-out 14. The cut-out illustrated in 14 enables an archer to overdraw a broad head arrow back into the platform area 13.

Since a shorter arrow possesses greater accuracy and may be cast a much farther distance than a longer arrow, it is desirable to use as short an arrow as possible. On the other hand, a certain amount of length is necessary in order to draw the bow to its maximum potential and thereby provide for the proper amount of casting strength. If the arrow is overdrawn onto platform 13, this will increase the draw of the arrow by l to 2 inches beyond that which is normally possible with a standard bow configuration. This I to 2 inches can make a difference of up to 20 yards in the casting distance of the bow. Previously, with bow handles formed from wood, a broad head arrow cut-out such as illustrated at 14 would crack the handle along the dotted line indicated by the numeral 15 in FIG. 2.

In addition, the use of metal in the bow handle enables the weight of the bow to be concentrated in the central portion of the bow. Thus, as illustrated in FIGS. 3 and 4, the metal portion of the handles extends to the triangular portions 11a and 12a in FIG. 3, and 11b and 12b in FIG. 4. Thus, the weight may be centered in the bow, thereby increasing the stability of the bow and giving it a better feel for the archer.

The use of a metal handle also enables the shape or contour of the center handle portion 10 to be curved and contoured to fit the hand and palm of the archer. Inasmuch as the center portion of the palm is inclined at an angle from the verticle when the wrist is straight and the arm fully extended, it is necessary that the palm portion be inclined as illustrated in FIG. 2 by slope 16. This slope is contoured for right and left hand archers as desired. The use of metal also enables the handle portion 10 to be made much smaller and narrower as illustrated at 17, thereby reducing the moment of torque that is normally engendered by the use of a large and relatively round bow handle. Since the wrist must necessarily be off-center from the central axis of the bow, and the path of the bow string, the amount of torque arising from a lb. bow is considerable. The torque can result in greatly increased inaccuracy as the strength of the bow is increased. The use of a smaller diameter handle, however, enables the wrist to be placed closer to the center axis of the bow, and the path of the bow string and thereby reduce the normal moment of torque which arises during the draw of the bow.

Many types of wood handles also cause a great deal of shock to be transmitted to the archer's wrist and this shock together with'the extreme pull required by modem-day hunting bows can greatly increase the fatigue of the archer, thereby decreasing his accuracy. The metal handle, and its increased weight, acts as a sink which absorbs the shock normally transmitted through the handle into the archers wrist.

Many experiments have been made with metal handles to satisfactorily join wooden or fiber glass laminated limb portions to a metal handle. These attempts have met with several difficulties. First, there is a substantial difference between the modulus of elasticity for metal, and the modulus for fiber glass, or for fiber glass and wood laminates.

Inasmuch as the bows are generally used outdoors, there is also a tremendous amount of stress applied to the joint between the metal and the fiber glass as the temperature changes. The coeflicient of expansion of the metal, and of the fiber glass is such that this stress, together with the stress occasioned by the release of the arrow will crack the joint between the plastic and the handle.

As illustrated in FIG. 2, a layer of fiber glass 18 of approximately forty one-thousandths of an inch in thickness is laminated to a layer of wood 19 which varies in thickness from fifteen one-thousandths of an inch for a 30-lb. bow to sixty one-thousandths of an inch for a 70-1b. bow. The limb has an additional wood stave 20 and fiber glass layer 21 on the other side of the center axis. In between the two layers of laminates, an intermediate transition member 22 is fixedly attached to the central metal handle 10. The use of the intermediate transition member 22 enables the laminated limb member 23 to be attached to the center handle 10, along a relatively long joint indicated by the letters A through B in FIG. 2. If this center intermediate portion were merely cast as an extension of handle 10, the extreme length and thinness of the member at its extreme end would cause it to flex, and thereby work harden. This work-hardening would not only afiect the pull and accuracy of the bow, but it would eventually lead to the breakdown and destruction of the bow. Also, as the temperature changes, the modulus of elasticity changes for the aluminum handle. This then greatly affects the pull and accuracy of the bow, as the bow is moved from indoors to out, and may I throw off an archer who has become accustomed to a certain pull and feel" of the bow.

If the taper of the handle portion were relatively short as illustrated in FIG. 2, and the laminated limb portion 23 were joined directly to it, the difference in the modulus of elasticity, between the central portion 10 and the limb portion 23, would be so great as to exceed the joint strength along the taper indicated by the numeral 24. Although undoubtedly the initial joint would be good for many castings of the bow, repeated castings would very rapidly result in joint deterioration and failure.

It has been discovered that the use of the intermediate transition member 22 provides a compensatory member for accommodating the difierence in the modulus of expansion between the central handle member 10 and the laminated limb portion 23. In practice, it has been found that hard maple makes a good transition member between a laminated fiber glass limb 23, and a cast aluminum handle. It is felt that since the modulus of elasticity for the intermediate member is greater than that of the handle or of the laminated limb, it is able to absorb the difference and stress normally occasioned by the casting of the arrow which would have to be absorbed under conventional construction by the metaI-to-fiber glass joint. Since one side of the taper is under tension, and the other side compression during the draw of the bow, and the reversal takes place upon the casting of the arrow it can be seen that rapid working of any joint would quickly destroy the joints permanence. It has been found desirable to include dowel pegs 25 and 26 illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2. Although any number of dowels may be used, three have been found to be quite satisfactory in normal construction and use. An additional set of three dowels 27, 28, and 29 are provided for the other end of the handle 10. It should be noted at this point that the dowels peg the intermediate portion to the handle, and do not extend through the laminated limb portions. Generally speaking, the extreme overlap of the laminated limb portion, as indicated by the joint A to B in FIG. 2, is quite sufficient to firmly and fixedly attach the laminated limb to the intermediate transition member.

In constructing the bow, the intermediate transition piece 22 is afiixed to the metal hand portion 10 by use of an epoxy adhesive and pins 25 through 29. After these portions have cured, the wood staves l9 and 20, and the fiber glass laminates 18 and 21 are coated with an epoxyadhesive, and the entire assembly is placed in a mold and the curvature of the bow is then set by a combination ofheat and pressure while the epoxy cures. After the epoxy has cured, the bow is removed and the laminated limb portions are finished, tillered and nocked. At the same time, the handle portion is contoured and smoothed to remove any excess material or epoxy resulting from the forming operation. After the assembly and shaping, the entire composite bow is given a clear plastic covering to protect the composite from weather and in some cases, is given a metal flake finish on its side surfaces to distinguish it as a metal bow. It should also be noted in FIG. 3, that two additional notches 30 and 31 are provided near the extreme ends of the metal handle. member 10. These notches are provided to reduce the shock that is normally transmitted when the arrow is cast, particularly for archery bows where a large number of arrows may be cast in an afternoon.

In the shorter and stifier hunting bow, as illustrated in FIG. 4, these notches are not provided since a relatively fewer number of arrows are generally cast during any hunting expedition, but the handle portion is notched for broad head arrows as indicated at 14.

Although maple has been disclosed as the preferred material for the intermediate transition member 22, it is obvious that any material could be substituted which will compensate or absorb the differences in the modulus of elasticity between the laminated limb members and the central handle member. It is also obvious that other types of wood may be utilized for the staves 19 and 20, such as yew, yellow pine, Osage orange, or any of the other conventional bow casting woods. The selection of the wood and the thickness of the veneers in the formation of the bow, has always been somewhat more an art than a science. But the utilization of a metal handle does result in several measurable benefits to the archer. The use of a metal handle has heretofore been impractical because of'difficulties encountered due to delamination and the changes in the,- feel of the bow when the temperature varies. While certain representative embodiments and details have been shown with the purpose of illustrating the present invention, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications may be made therein without departing from the scope or spirit of the invention.

We claim:

1. A one piece composite bow comprising an integral one piece metallic handle member, said handle member having first and second end portions, each of said portions defining a tapered end portion,

laminated limb portions extending outwardly from said handle portion, said limb portions defining a tapered notch adjacent said first and second end portions of said handle member,

a transition member for absorbing vibrations mounted between and permanently connecting each of said tapered end portions of said handle member within the notchs defined by said limb portions, each of said transition members being laminated to and positioned between one of said limb portions and one of said end portions of said handle member, said transition members connecting 6 the handle member and said laminated limb portions, 3. A composite bow as claimed in claim 1 wherein said which have differences in configuration and moduli of transition members are made from wood. elasticity, 4. A composite bow as claimed in claim 1 wherein said at least two permanent and fixably attached pins extending laminated limb portions are constructed of a laminate of fiber in a direction from belly to back through said transition 5 gl n wood secured together with an epoxy resin. members to said first and e d d r i f id b 5. A composite bow as claimed in claim 1 wherein said dl d e u in id t i i members to id handle metallic handle member defines a first horizontal shelf portion member, the d f i pens lying und" and being for a drawn arrow, said handle member further defining a l el covered b i laminated li b ponionS notch in the forward portion of the handle member to receive 2. A composite bow as claimed in claim 1 wherein said 10 abroad head arrow point when the arrow is overdrawn. metallic handle memberiscast aluminum.

223 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION Patent No. 3,659,577 Dated M88 2" 1972 James R. Richardson and Robert E. Richardson It is certified that error appears in the above-identified patent and that said Letters Patent are hereby corrected as shown below:

On the title page, the left hand column, lines 9 and 10, please cancel the term:

[30] Foreign Application Priority Data July 21, I969 Great Britain ..36,549/69 Signed and sealed this 9th day of January 1973q (SEAL) Attest:

EDWARD ILFLETCHER,JR. ROBERT GOTTSCHALK Attesting Officer Commissioner of Patents 

1. A one piece composite bow comprising an integral one piece metallic handle member, said handle member having first and second end portions, each of said portions defining a tapered end portion, laminated limb portions extending outwardly from said handle portion, said limb portions defining a tapered notch adjacent said first and second end portions of said handle member, a transition member for absorbing vibrations mounted between and permanently connecting each of said tapered end portions of said handle member within the notchs defined by said limb portions, each of said transition members being laminated to and positioned between one of said limb portions and one of said end portions of said handle member, said transition members connecting the handle member and said laminated limb portions, which have differences in configuration and moduli of elasticity, at least two permanent and fixably attached pins extending in a direction from belly to back through said transition members to said first and second end portions of said handle and securing said transition members to said handle member, the ends of said pens lying under and being completely covered by said laminated limb portions.
 2. A composite bow as claimed in claim 1 wherein said metallic handle member is cast aluminum.
 3. A composite bow as claimed in claim 1 wherein said transition members are made from wood.
 4. A composite bow as claimed in claim 1 wherein said laminated limb portions are constructed of a laminate of fiber glass and wood secured together with an epoxy resin.
 5. A composite bow as claimed in claim 1 wherein said metallic handle member defines a first horizontal shelf portion for a drawn arrow, said handle member further defining a notch in the forward portion of the handle member to receive a broad head arrow point when the arrow is overdrawn. 